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List: Poetic Form: Villanelle

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Form.
In a traditional Villanelle:

The lines are grouped into five tercets and a concluding quatrain. Thus a Villanelle has 19 lines.


Lines may be of any length.


The Villanelle has two rhymes. The rhyme scheme is aba, with the same end-rhyme for every first and last line of each tercet and the final two lines of the quatrain.


Two of the lines are repeated:
The first line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the second and the fourth stanzas, and as the second-to-last line in the concluding quatrain.
The third line of the first stanza is repeated as the last line of the third and the fifth stanzas, and as the last line in the concluding quatrain.


Thus the pattern of line-repetition is as follows:


A1 b A2 - Lines in first tercet.
a b A1 - Lines in second tercet.
a b A2 - Lines in third tercet.
a b A1 - Lines in fourth tercet.
a b A2 - Lines in fifth tercet.
a b A1 A2 - Lines in final quatrain.

1 - 7 of 7
  • A Poet's Refrain
    27 lines, 7 comments, on Jun 27 1:20 PM 2008
  • My Love
    My love, I will wait for thee by the sea
    Where love's first kiss was shared between us two
    31 lines, 7 comments, on Aug 9 4:09 PM 2008
  • Traveled
    Spirit haunts ancient woods at twilight's gleam
    Forest's shadows wake immortality
    29 lines, 14 comments, on Aug 11 12:00 AM 2008
  • Brilliant Sky
    Faded outlines against a brilliant sky
    tempest upsurge exudes deafening din
    30 lines, 10 comments, on Aug 14 11:59 PM 2008
  • December's Dreams
    Weary wind moans dreary entreating at my door,
    beguiling darkness with ebony eyes;
    27 lines, 16 comments, on Oct 11 5:44 PM 2008
  • Blustery Days Autumn Calls
    31 lines, 12 comments, on Oct 12 7:59 PM 2008
  • Metamorphosis
    reserving, working on the poem
    20 lines, 17 comments, on Nov 13 8:13 PM 2008
1 - 7 of 7

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